Diamond, Mortensen, Pissarides Share 2010 Nobel Economic Prize

Peter Diamond, Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides shared the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their work on the efficiency of recruitment and wage formation as well as labor-market regulation.
The laureates “have formulated a theoretical framework for search markets,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement. “Peter Diamond has analyzed the foundations of search markets. Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides have expanded the theory and have applied it to the labor market. The laureates’ models help us understand the ways in which unemployment, job vacancies, and wages are affected by regulation and economic policy.”

Pissarides, 62 -- an economics professor at the London School of Economics -- made his reputation through his work on job flows and unemployment. He related job creation to the number of unemployed, the number of vacancies and the intensity with which workers look for jobs and companies recruit applicants. The more eagerly job seekers look for work, the more jobs companies are likely to offer because it will be easier to fill them, according to Pissarides.
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Mortensen, 71 -- a professor at Northwestern University -- pioneered the study of how workers search for jobs. He found that labor-market rigidities can cause unemployment as job- seekers look for the best work at the highest pay. The intensity of that job search determines how long workers stay unemployed and in turn can be affected by changes in the level and duration of jobless benefits.
Diamond, 70 -- an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- has researched a wide range of subjects. His earliest work, published in the 1960s, focused on the long-term impact of the growing national debt on the economy.

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The award’s official name is The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The money, 10 million kronor ($1.5 million), a gold medal and a diploma, will be handed out to the laureate at a Stockholm ceremony on Dec.10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death.
The 2009 economics prize was awarded to Elinor Ostrom, the first woman to win, and Oliver Williamson for research into the limits of markets and how organizations work. Krugman won the prize in 2008 “for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity,” the academy said at the time.

About Nobel Prize in Economics: In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. The Prize is based on a donation received by the Foundation in 1968 from Sveriges Riksbank on the occasion of the Bank's 300th anniversary. The first Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen in 1969.

Annual prizes for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, peace and literature were established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite who died in 1896, and the first prizes were handed out in 1901. The prize in economics was set up by Sweden’s central bank in 1968. Past winners since 1969 include Milton Friedman, Amartya Sen, James Tobin,Paul Krugman, Robert Solow and Gunnar Myrdal.

Facts on Nobel Prize on Economics:

1. 42 Prizes in Economic Sciences have been awarded every year since 1969.
2. 22 Prizes in Economic Sciences have been given to one Laureate only.
3. 15 Prizes in Economic Sciences have been shared by two Laureates.
4. 5 Prizes in Economic Sciences have been shared between three Laureates.
5. To date, the youngest Laureate in Economic Sciences is Kenneth J. Arrow, who was 51 years old when he was awarded in 1972.
6. The oldest Laureate in Economic Sciences to date is Leonid Hurwicz, who was 90 years old when he was awarded in 2007. He is also the oldest Laureate to be awarded the Nobel Prize in all Prize areas.